Daniel Obenour, PhD, PE
Assistant Professor
drobenour@ncsu.edu
Dan Obenour is interested in the development of quantitative models that improve our ability to understand and manage complex environmental systems. His research has focused on the problems of hypoxia (low dissolved oxygen) and harmful algal blooms in lakes and coastal systems. Dan also has considerable experience in the modeling of watersheds, streams, and reservoirs, related to the development of total maximum daily load (TMDL) studies and nonpoint-source pollution control plans. Dan recognizes the inherent uncertainties involved with modeling coupled human-natural systems, and thus focuses on the development of advanced probabilistic (e.g., Bayesian and geostatistical) modeling frameworks. He also aims to reduce model uncertainty through the assimilation of diverse sources of environmental information within these frameworks.
PhD Students:
Smitom Borah, sborah@ncsu.edu
Smitom is a Ph.D. student in Civil Engineering focusing on Water Resources Engineering. He received his B.E. degree from Gauhati University (Assam, India) and M.Tech degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (Assam, India). In his Masters program, he worked on the development of an ecological model to study the extent of eutrophication in a Ramsar site in Northeastern India. His current research interest lies in understanding nutrient dynamics in lakes and reservoirs through Bayesian mechanistic modeling approaches. He is also a STEPS scholar.
Hector Fajardo, hhfajard@ncsu.edu, co-advisee with Dr. Natalie Nelson
Hector received his undergraduate degree in Agricultural Engineering from Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA) in La Paz, Bolivia. As an undergraduate research assistant, he studied nutrient management and crop modeling. Before pursing his master’s degree in Soil Fertility & Precision Ag at Louisiana State University, Hector worked for several years as an irrigation extension consultant. His MS project focused on measuring the impact of cover crops on nutrient cycling and sugarcane yield, and developing a predictive model for cover crops biomass and nutrient content with the use of remote sensors. Hector’s PhD research combines precision agriculture, remote sensing, crop modeling, and hydrological modeling to develop a framework that can help forecast phosphorus fluxes through different agricultural management strategies, helping to improve productivity while minimizing phosphorus losses. He is also a STEPS scholar.
Bigyapti Nepal, bnepal@ncsu.edu, co-advisee with Dr. Bethany Cutts
Bigyapti is a PhD student at the Center for Geospatial Analytics, specializing in water resources, algal bloom monitoring, Bayesian modeling, and community outreach. She holds a BS in Environmental Science from Kathmandu University, Nepal, where her research focused on spatial flood inundation mapping in Nepalese rivers and engaging vulnerable communities affected by flooding. Currently, Bigyapti’s research centers on cyanotoxins and algal blooms within the Albemarle-Pamlico Sound system in North Carolina, combining advanced modeling techniques with community outreach initiatives. She is also a SECASC Global Change Research Fellow.
Parisa Noorbeh, pnoorbe@ncsu.edu
Parisa is a Ph.D. student in Environmental Engineering. She earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Engineering from the University of Tehran in Iran. During her Master’s studies, she concentrated on applying probabilistic Bayesian networks to water resources management. After completing her Master’s degree, she focused on addressing environmental challenges, specifically aiming to reduce carbon emissions through improved off-farm water management practices. Additionally, Parisa has four years of experience as a water resources consulting engineer in Iran. Her current research interests center on the environmental factors influencing the accumulation of cyanotoxins produced by cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms in coastal systems.
Master’s students:
Brian Baird, bwbaird@ncsu.edu
Brian is a master’s student focusing on water resources engineering. He received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Arkansas before coming to NC State University. His current research includes developing surface water quality modeling guidelines for assessing dissolved oxygen, as well as modeling nutrient-chlorophyll relationships in lakes using a Bayesian framework. He is also a STEPS scholar.
Post-docs:
Ike Onwuka, isonwuka@ncsu.edu (STEPS Scholar, co-advised with Drs. Owen Duckworth and Natalie Nelson)
https://steps-center.org/steps-team/ike-onwuka/
Undergraduate researchers:
- Chris Camporeale (Civil Engineering)
Former graduate students and post-docs:
- Kimia Karimi (PhD student, 2019-2023, now at Texas Water Development Board)
- Rohith Matli (PhD student, 2020-2023, now at Spectrum Enterprise)
- Qicheng Tang (post-doc co-advisee, 2022-2023, now at UC ANR)
- Alexey Katin (post-doc co-advisee, 2021-2022, analyst at NextEra Energy Resources)
- Dario Del Giudice (post-doc 2018-2020, now senior data scientist at AllState)
- Shiqi Fang (PhD student, 2016-2020, now post-doc at NC State)
- Yue Han (PhD student, 2015-2020, now post-doc at Shanghai Jiao Tong University)
- Kevin Li (lab researcher, 2015-2017, now post-doc at University of Michigan)
- Jonathan Miller (PhD student and post-doc 2014-2019, now teaching assistant professor at NC State)
- Yini Shangguan (lab researcher, 2019, now at US EPA)
- Jeremy Smithheart (MS student, 2016-2018, now consulting engineer at Moffatt & Nichol)
- Hayden Strickling (MS student, 2016-2017, now consulting engineer at AECOM)
Former undergraduate student researchers:
- Chiemerigo Ogboi (graduated 2023)
- Laura Gomez Rodriguez (graduated 2022)
- Wesley Hayes (graduated 2020)
- Bright Elijah (Benedict College, graduating 2019)
- Erick Saunders (graduating 2018)
- Brianne Walker (graduating 2016)
- Kristen McCahill (graduated 2016)
- Jeremy Smithheart (graduated 2016, continuing for MS)